Hell and Back
by Outcast of Reality
Summary: not 'romance' yet, PG for later chapters. Aeris is dead. She has been for almost a month. During that month, she earned the right to return, but nothing goes without a hitch.... AerisSephiroth CloudTifa
1. Prologue

Well, I'm trying this out. It's short, like the other stories. This is the first thing I've done that's not one-chaptered (as in only one chapter EVER). Hope you enjoy.

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Light was ahead.  
  
Normal light.  
  
Aeris would smile, if she weren't still bodiless.  
  
Not the ghastly, pale, white light of the afterlife… the bright, inviting light of a dewy spring morning. The light Aeris had longed to see for nearly a month.  
  
And nothing to stop her getting there.  
  
A world of joy flew through her as a rapidly forming hand reached out to it.  
  
To all she ever wanted.  
  
To all she needed.  
  
Light…  
  
Life…  
  
Fire?!  
  
All she was aware of was an almost inhuman growl of disgust, followed by a vice-like grip on her arm. What she felt most powerfully was moving away from the light of earth, moving away also from the light of a simple afterlife. Towards the pits of darkness.  
  
She whirled, quite ready to severely injure the culprit. Especially for this. Some foul person had deprived her of everything she'd been working for. Even if it was…..  
  
…..Sephiroth……  
  
What?! Sephiroth was the one that had killed her! Why was he here? He must have been… killed! Aeris was caught between being happy at Cloud and the others' success, and furious at her current predicament. She decided on the latter.  
  
"Sephiroth!!"  
  
He turned his head at the call of his name, and she could see the hatred on his face. He hated… her. If she were alive, he would want her dead. Now they both were, there was no telling what he'd do. He snarled, one of the ugliest grimaces she had ever seen adorning his face.  
  
"If I'm going down, you're coming with me!!"  
  
With a sharp flick of his wrist, he sent what remained of her flying into the ground, face first, before landing neatly on his feet next to her.  
  
Aeris sputtered, spitting oddly solid dirt out of her mouth, before confronting him violently.  
  
"What are you doing?! I was almost there!"  
  
She stood shakily.  
  
"I'll kill you!!"  
  
He gave her a shrug. "One, I've killed you before. Two, I'm dead."  
  
"So what do you want with me?!"  
  
Aeris was FURIOUS.  
  
Eighty-three. That was the number of otherwordly trials she'd put her soul into the completion of before being permitted to return to the planet. They had been of everything from escorting a crying child to his rightful place in the afterlife, to watching gruesome deaths to make sure fate went without a hitch.  
  
And just her luck, her fate hadn't.  
  
Sephiroth gave her an awful smirk.  
  
"I'm going to visit the god of death. You're coming with me."  
  
His voice was solid. Solid as diamond, only not nearly as beautiful. She couldn't object. If she tried, her voice would be like a whining child against her parents, begging for something completely out of the question.  
  
He yanked her forcefully along by the arm, not waiting for a reaction. Despite his comment, she could still object.  
  
"Hey!! I never agreed to this!!"  
  
He didn't reply.


	2. Prologue Pt2

Yes, yes, short, short… I have a habit of writing half-chapters, so I can actually get them up. I'm a slow writer… (cry) So, this is sort of like part 2 of chapter 1, I'm just calling it chapter 2.  
  
()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()-()  
  
"You moron!"  
  
…  
  
"Monster! You don't deserve to exist!"  
  
…  
  
"Do you know what I put into what you just ruined?!"  
  
Sephiroth felt no inclination at all to respond. This had been going on for, what? Hours? There was no measure of time here. Just step after step after muttered curse after hollered insult, even the occasional obscenity.  
  
It was starting to irk him. Like being hit on the head with a plastic bottle just enough times for it to twinge annoyingly. Not pain, but stinging, sharper with each hit.  
  
"You don't care, do you?!"  
  
Eventually…  
  
"You're emotionless!!"  
  
He'd snap.  
  
"You can't-"  
  
Sephiroth whirled, eyes flaming, mouth turned down in a fierce snarl.  
  
"YOU listen!!" The annoying plastic bottle turned tenfold on the offender. "I killed you once already!! Now that we are both DEAD, you will cooperate!! Either that, or you will find out what is worse than death!!"  
  
A muffled squeak was heard before the onslaught of silence. If there was wind in the underworld, it would fly by, deafening in the quiet, ruffling long hair. Since there was no wind, there was no noise, no movement. Time was frozen.  
  
Aeris was caught in the raging storm, pulling her in through the spark in his eyes. Their gazes locked, linked for what was an eternity. Sephiroth could see through her, through the exterior to the timid soul, and carve it open. It felt like a blade of ice pressed against her fragile soul, as if it would take no effort to cleave her in half.  
  
"Good."  
  
He grabbed her wrist sharply, and continued walking, black boots clicking softly against ground Aeris knew wasn't actually there.  
  
Unreal scenery whipped past her, never really there. Aeris knew what it looked like, but she couldn't see it, it wasn't really there.  
  
It was…  
  
Like a cave without walls.  
  
Like being underground, but with no ground above you. As if the whole world was ridged with rocky floors and mounted lanterns, and there wasn't any exit.  
  
It was…  
  
Hell.  
  
Here she was, in what was most likely eternal damnation, being dragged along by her killer.  
  
Yet somehow…  
  
Be it because she had nowhere else to go, or that demonic curiosity had overcome…  
  
She would have followed him, even without the grip.  
  
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   
  
"Still here, Cloud?"  
  
"…yes…"  
  
"Can I join you?"  
  
"Alright…"  
  
"Those are beautiful flowers."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I'm sure she'd love them if she saw them."  
  
"…"  
  
Tifa put a supportive hand on Cloud's shoulder, as he lightly set a beautiful bouquet of flowers on a familiar gravestone.  
  
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Go me! Watch me overdo it completely! I can't help it, it's really fun to write scenes like these. 


	3. City of the Dead

Ok, we're getting somewhere.

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The city of the dead is magnificent. Unreal towers glitter in the light of something very close to sunlight, markets filled with people busily gathering small things, seeming to have normal, everyday lives. Aeris would never have expected that the hell they were in would yield such a surprising metropolis.

Aeris observed this thoughtfully from her place on the window ledge of the Phoenix Inn. She winced as the window on her left banged open, and an all-too-familiar head leaned out.

"Hey! Don't you think about going anywhere, because it wouldn't take much to track you down!" Aeris sighed.

The 'plan' had been laid out to her, without room for interjection or objection. They would visit the leader of this place, the so called 'lord of the dead', and he would either grant Sephiroth passage to the upper world, or Sephiroth would kill him and take over hell himself. A plan only the great general could even consider. Most people didn't believe they had half the power to challenge someone with power equivalent to that of a god. Sephiroth did.

Oddly, even though she was dead, Aeris was feeling the effects of her lack of sleep. Best turn in. Waiting for dark was out of the question, as there was no night and day here. Which would mean morning was whenever Sephiroth decided they would leave.

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Tifa's snarled. Her hands slung, hit, and otherwise beat on the unfortunate punching bag of her choice tonight. She was going to get out of practice, with there being nothing really for the group to do.

If for no other reason, Tifa was in a bad mood.

Words echoed through her mind, and she saw the look on Cloud's face again and again. The words swirled and sank in. There were the words from Aeris' gravestone. The words Cloud had chosen for her. It told the world only one thing: that she had fought and lost her life for the sake of their world. Most people would pass that off as normal, but a closer look would recognize how selfless it made her sound. That was what Cloud had wanted.  
Tifa hated the look Cloud had on his face, staring at the grave. He was so sad, nobody deserved that sadness. The loss had hurt Tifa greatly as well, but nobody was as affected as Cloud. He had been very close to her. With a final sharb jab, she walked up the stairs. She built her courage as her legs carried her down the hall. Her eyes rested on the door, as her hand touched the knob slowly.

"Cloud?" There was no response. Tifa let herself in, she knew he was there.

"Hi, Cloud" He was staring dully out the window, the glow of his eyes veiled by suppressed tears. She moved to sit next to him on the edge of his bed, and took his hand.  
"I miss her too." Cloud's face scrunched, and he dropped his head into his arms, shaking with sobs. Tifa had never seen him like this before. She pet his back lightly, but now words of comfort came.

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HEY! I almost got somewhere with this one!


	4. Setting Off

CHAPTER 4  
  
The grip on Aeris' hand didn't loosen, the mood didn't lighten, and the pull didn't relent. Sephiroth had been insistent enough to drag her from the inn's feather bed that morning, and she wasn't about to attempt conversation. She was angry, and she was going to make it as obvious as possible.

Unfortunately, Sephiroth was doing an amazing impression of not caring at all. 

Aeris knew that Sephiroth had no idea where he was going, how he would get there, or what he would see. But he was going, and he was determined. It was odd to see the great general in action, he was completely focused. There was no city around him, with its petty problems and minor achievements. There was no Aeris, trailing helplessly behind him. There was Sephiroth. There was his goal.

And there were one or two citizens stopped for directions. 

"Down that road five blocks, then left, can't miss it." Sephiroth gave a curt nod and continued on without thanking the man, their brisk pace resumed. He didn't seem to enjoy asking for directions.

......................SCENECHANGE......................

The streets of Nibelheim had become busy as ever once again, as people started moving back into the once-ruined town. Sun glittered off rooftops and trees, children laughed and yelled in joy at the perfect weather, and most of all, the city was whole again.

Tifa smiled at the prosperity of her hometown, perched on a front porch identical to the one from her childhood. She and Cloud now lived in the home identical to Tifa's, while their former companion Vincent had resumed his former placement in a small dark room with coffins, though both Tifa and Cloud could truthfully say that the room was getting gradually lighter and roomier (despite the coffins).

A different Vincent than the cold, antisocial man who had fought with them greeted them warmly upon their return from the City of the Ancients.

Right now, Tifa was dozing on the couch, Cloud perched next to her with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Tifa?"

"mm?"

"Its getting late. I'm going to bed"

"mmhmm" She took his offered hand and yanked herself off of the couch.

"Me too".

As soon as she was on her feet, she was up the stairs ahead of him.

......................ENDOFCHAPTER4......................

That was... fun.  
Sorry, short chapter again.  
Yeah.  
I really have to break that habit.


	5. Your fault

Okay, I looked at Chapter 4, and it was crazy. All over everywhere! A freaky egg that someone had thrown at the wall! Tifa was on the porch, then BOOM! She was inside! Amazing.  
But I'm not gonna change it. I like it. I like eggs.  
  
---------------CHAPTER 5-----------  
  
The room was cold. Where a pleasant waiting room would usually be, there was a cold room of stone, with the occasional wooden stool. This room, like the exterior, was oddly lit with the same sourceless light, only not so much, and a lot less sunny.

Aeris was trying her best not to mind, but she would still fidget uncomfortably, standing in the middle of the room with a man that didn't seem to realize she existed. Sephiroth kept the same cold, bottomless gaze he'd always had as he surveyed the room, taking in the surroundings.  
It didn't take him long to realize that there was next to nothing there. He grunted in disgust. Obviously, waiting was not one of his strong points. After giving the door a long, angry look, he spread his cloak across one of the many stone benches, sitting down and giving Aeris enough look to tell her she should sit too. He'd left her half the comfortable space his cloak provided.

Oh gee, how nice.

Quite a while passed in this thick silence.After quite a bit of calculation, Aeris decided that she was still furious with him. She wanted to return to life as much as Sephiroth, but wanted to do it by hard work, not barely planned rebellion. She briefly contemplated leaving the seat he'd given her, but thought better of it. There was nowhere better to sit.Sephiroth wasn't in much of a good mood himself. He was surprised at quite how much his companion hated him. Sephiroth had been hated before, but never quite this strongly. Aeris wasn't "warming up" at all, and they been together for several days. Usually forced to team up with him, she would eventually at least accept him.While 'teammate' was actually a rather desirable title, defiance wouldn't let him stray at all from the same spitting hatred she showed to him.------------AND NOW, FOR A BREAK FROM CLOUD AND TIFA--------------Cid stared angrily at the wall, cigarette hanging limply from his lips.Damn.DAMN.The cheerful laughter of young children rang through the house. Cid growled. Of all the....!! It hadn't been his fault. Not at all. All Shera's fault. It was a weak moment! One of his few weak moments... Otherwise this would never have happened. He could remember it well.

He'd been flopped on his bed, happyface boxers and all, practically asleep. A knock came to his door.

"Mmmrff... whut?" He'd muttered into his pillow. The door opened slowly."er... Cid..." The voice was quiet and shy. And it must have been an occasion. Shera never used just his first name."....um..." "Out with it, I wanna go to bed." "We're low on cash. Can I start a daycare service?" "#$!&, sure. Just lemme go to bed."---------------ENDCHAP5-------------------Oh boy that was fun I like messing with you. Yeah, the Cid bit was sort of a chunk of nothing in a completely unrelated fic, but I enjoyed it! . 


	6. Teaching bond

I just remembered I have a fic.  
Don't laugh, please.

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"Reform"  
"Darling, yes, of course! You weren't under the impression Hell was punishment"  
The smiling secretary gave Sephiroth a long look, in wonderment at his apparent misinterpretation. Sephiroth appeared to be having some trouble with the notion.  
"Reform"  
He was beyond comment. Aeris couldn't even tell what he was thinking from his blank eyes. "That's the word, dear"  
Sephiroth was silent. He stared blankly at the woman for a time, not moving at all. After a few minutes of what was conceivably deep thought, he moved to sit down again.  
"Reform"  
Aeris was halfway between relief and annoyance by the time she was forced from her thoughts.  
A small, stout man approached the secretary. He appeared the kind of man, small and nervous, that would pull on his mustache and fidget to the point of making his companions murderous in any situation. Despite this, he had more presence than anyone else in the room, including the great general Sephiroth.  
"Newbie?" the man asked  
"Oh, the worst kind!" his secretary didn't seem to notice that the people she was talking about were standing only a few feet away, "I don't think they've even spent a day here, before coming to talk to us"  
"Ah," the man turned to them, "you want out, I assume?" Sephiroth nodded curtly, accompanied by a minor gesture of agreement from the girl beside him.  
"Sorry, but there's a bit more to it than that. There are a few things we have to take care of first"  
At this, Sephiroth looked a touch annoyed, but Aeris was livid.  
"I'm sorry, but I don't think you understand! I was on my way back to Earth, I'd earned it! The only reason I'm down here is him!" Her finger shot out towards the general in accusation.  
"Ah! A special case then!" the man turned to his secretary, shaking her out of the stupor of her almost immediate boredom.  
"This will be a great learning experience for you, Mary-Lou! So that you know how to deal with these cases without my help later on"  
The woman frowned, obviously having no intention of doing anything particularly complicated herself.  
"The terms of a bond are completely separate," he explained to the two of them, "this is not a common occurence"  
"A bond"  
"Yes. To figure this out, I must know: what exactly did you do, sir"  
"I..." Sephiroth hesitated, thinking about maybe a more positive wording. Eventually, he sighed. "I tried to destroy the world"  
Oddly, the man didn't seem surprised at all.  
"Aha! Beautiful! That makes it a bit simpler. You, Sephiroth, having attempted complete destruction, will only have to learn"  
The silence of confusion was thick as mud.  
"Learn to be, and to follow you, not evil. And you," he turned to Aeris, grinning widely, "you two are bonded, so you must be his teacher"  
The breath caught in Aeris throat. Bonded? A teacher? Not now, not him, please! Sephiroth's smirking face clearly told her she'd better get used to life in hell.  
At this point, the one thing she'd really like to do was smack him upside the head.

--------------------------------

I got stuck in the middle. Then I started again. WHEE!!! And that took (from stuck point on)... 25 minutes. Go me!!


	7. More bond talk, and ShinRa Bldg Floor 32

Okay, I just saw something. Dang, I should really get a beta reader for these, but I don't update regularly enough. The guy talking is like "Learn to be, and to follow you, not evil. And you," and I have no idea what I meant by it.  
Hoo boy.  
well yeah... I just saw this story on somebody favorites (!) and I was like DANG! I gotta write more!  
Merk.  
By the way, if anybody's got any idea what I meant by the above phrase, then feel free to give me advice.  
Oh yeah, and I'm in the process of trying to fix the 'city of the dead' chapter. It did something screwy.  
And before you say it, yes, Reeve giggles. Also, by no means am I trying to make Reeve seem gay (though he does, I know it). It's got no reference to that at all, if he is he is if he isn't he isn't. Decide for yourself, but don't get mad at me for making him seem gay. He just works well that way.

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The shopkeeper smiled sympathetically at Aeris. As he said, he'd been here for many years, and had seen many 'bonds'. Unfortunately, he'd never quite seen one with terms so vague.  
He just stood there, counting off her change with an amused look on his face.  
"You won't regret it." He told her suddenly, making her look up.  
"What?" "I said you won't regret it. More often than not, the bonded end up inseparable." Inseperable... her and Sephiroth? Yeah, likely. The man wasn't exactly who she would ask for as a companion for eternity. This man was trying to suggest that she would pick Sephiroth over Cloud, Tifa, Cid, Yuffie, Red, Barret, Cait Sith, Vincent... All of them. She had spent month of endless work trying to get to them, and had spent a good few days already trying to get AWAY from Sephiroth's piercing glare and overwhelming pride.  
"Hey"  
She turned from her thoughts to the man she was having trouble calling her 'traveling companion.  
"Do you have the supplies"  
"Be patient!" She took the offered medical supplies from the man.  
"Don't be controlled." He said to her, receiving only an odd look in return. "He must learn, so you must teach. Don't let him control you"  
"okay"  
The man smiled as she walked off, knowing fully that she thought he was mad. Most did, but he honestly didn't care so long as they at least considered what he said. He wasn't here to be well-liked or popular after all.  
He chuckled to himself hearing their talk from far away.  
"Hurry up"  
"Why don't you slow down? I'm not a SOLDIER you know!"

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Reeve was almost prancing down the halls of the newly renovated ShinRa building, giggling gleefully.  
Going to visit Cloud! Cloud, cloud, cloud... Going to Nibelheim!  
Reeve loved Nibelheim, it was honestly a great town. There were, of course, other reasons for him so visit the quaint little place.  
As you could see, Reeve had a little bit of a Cloud obsession. He hadn't done anything quite as exciting as the mission he'd accomplished as Cait Sith with Cloud and the gang, and he would finally be able to visit them, after so long!  
His fist shot in the air, before coming down quickly. He froze, standing straight, not saying a word.  
"Good day, Reeve"  
"The same to you, Tseng. How's business going"  
"Same as always. There's too little going on"  
"I agree completely"  
Reeve walked about fifteen steps, before turning to see if he could still hear Tseng. Grinning in a satisfied manner, he strode off.  
Only a lone janitor heard the cheery, off-tune Cloud song floating through the halls of Floor 32 of the ShinRa building.

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I LOVE REEVE. Who doesn't love Reeve? Anyway, I've been playing FF7 again through, and I'm still at Fort Condor (dangit forgot to save have to do it ALL OVER). It's been a while since my first time through, so tell me if I get things wrong.


	8. Chocobo Stable, and Vincent's new life

I was looking and I thought: This story needs an 8th chapter! I got no reviews for 7 T.T But, then again, I posted it at 1am or somthing.  
So, here I go! Dun da da daaaaa!Man, I should be more consistent in updates. I barely do. That's really saaad.  
and uh... ff7 is square's not mine. 

0-0-0-0-0-START-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It had been two days--To be a bit more precise, two days, four hours, forty-eight minutes-- since they had set off on their own. It had also been three street brawls since, as great general Sephiroth was all but peaceful. Aeris had been counting--days, hours, minutes, thoughts and occurrences-- just about everything that could relate to the progression of time. It was a habit, despite that their time in this land wasn't judged by time passed, but achievement. Achievement was, unfortunately, the only thing their quest lacked.  
"So, you're saying there isn't one room, ONE ROOM, in this whole ENTIRE inn"  
"I'm sorry, sir, with the recent tendency for evil, the city is having trouble adapting to the population increase"  
A uniquely terrifying growl seemed to change his mind.  
"Oh..! I'm... I'm sure we could find some accommodation for you and your friend, sir"  
That's how I ended up in the slightly nicer end of an underused chocobo stable, resting silently on the same black cape that had served as a seat-softener back in hell's waiting room. The stable was actually fairly comfortable, and mostly empty. There were one or two dull, bored chocobos down at the other end, but they didn't look like they'd seen the light of day for a while.  
She gave her quiet companion a long look.  
"So, what are we doing next"  
He turned his head soundlessly, apparently surprised by her attempts at civil conversation. He gave a long sigh before turning towards the window.  
"How am I supposed to know"  
Aeris wasn't in the least bit surprised.  
"Sephiroth"  
He turned his head in silent acknowledgement.  
"We're like rats running a maze. Everything we're doing, they want us to do. They must want us to learn something along the way, but... do you think we're really going to get out of here"  
She didn't truly think she wanted to know just yet.  
He seemed to think quite a bit about this, before standing up and walking over to his own makeshift bed.  
"Get some rest," he told her, not quite as violently as he had meant it to come out. "It may not look different outside, but it's very late"  
For once, she had no complaints to add.

0-0-0-0-0-BACK UP ON EARTH-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Vincent was a busy man today. He smiled into his coffee at the thought, relaxing into the tranquility of his home. Cloud and Tifa would probably be thrilled, but somehow that wasn't the motivating factor. Vincent had never in his life, before now, had anything resembling the desire to make his humble abode more 'homey', but he was gradually becoming fonder of the tiny patch of warm morning sunlight that graced his kitchen floor daily, and the light ruffling of chocobos in the next room, happy with the new change in their room and their caretaker. Of course, the renovations were entirely his project, as the people he allowed to see him in this mood were few and far between (most being chocobos.  
Pulling back the sleeves of his red woolen sweater, he snagged his bag of chocobo greens and headed into the next room to feed his chocobo friends.

0-0-0-0-0-END-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Wow, yay. You know, I really did have to put Vincent in there SOMEWHERE. AND in case you all say "that's not like vincent at all!" you see, he CHANGED. Yes, I know.  
Anyway! Begging reviews off you here. One maybe for this chapter. I don't hostage chapters asking for reviews, but if ANYBODY AT ALL reads this, I'd kinda like to know. Eh, well, see ya!


	9. Suiting up

This chapter was difficult. I've been pounding at my writer's block for a looong time. You can see the dents in the cement. sigh 

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The morning dawned fresh and early. Well, as much as a morning can dawn in a world where the sun doesn't rise or set. In fact, the only definition they had of morning was when Sephiroth decided he was no longer tired. This suited Aeris fine, as she'd been up for nearly an hour already, pacing back and forth and conversing with the dreary, unfortunate chocobos.

Morning in the city of the dead was quite the same as afternoon, evening, and (presumably) night. The same crowds bustled about the city, some of them cheerful, as if they'd just woken up; some of them tired, as if they'd been up far too long; and some of them completely plastered, barely able to keep on their feet.

All in all, it was hard to imagine how this city kept functioning properly.

Nonetheless, it all seemed so normal, if a little dysfunctional, that Aeris was beginning to forget that she even had another life to return to. It seemed like an everyday occurance to wake up, wait for Sephiroth, and then get going. In fact, she was almost starting to enjoy the exciting routine.

That is, until she remembered she was standing next to the man that had stolen her life from her. TWICE.

A plan was what she needed. It was also very likely the most difficult thing for her to get. She had already decided that she would do any task set up for her if it would get her back to the world of the living, but it ended up a lot more difficult when you had no clue at all what you were supposed to be going about. She went over the facts she'd been given in her head once more.

So, Sephiroth had to atone, apparently, since this was the land of reform. But what that man had said, that Sephiroth only needed to learn, what did he mean by that? What could he learn from her? Aeris didn't feel she was qualified to teach anything, with the possible exception of growing flowers in tough conditions, so how was she supposed to teach Sephiroth anything? Especially when she had no clue what she should be teaching.

It was beginning to seem like their time in this world would be long. She didn't know how long she would be able to tolerate Sephiroth. The only benefit was that she seemed to be getting more of a travel companion treatment than a bug-under-my-foot treatment from him.  
She would take as much control of their quest as possible, she decided. Sephiroth himself obviously had no idea whatsoever about how to solve this type of riddle.

First thing, this was long-term. Meaning that first and foremost they needed some means by which to sustain themselves for however long this took.

By this time, Sephiroth was almost completely done suiting up. He had so much armor and weaponry this always took a while. With the amount of hostility they recieved in this land, she was quite surprised he even bothered. The only person stupid enough to attack someone with even just a sword like Sephiroth's would have to be so drunk he couldn't tell his feet from the ceiling. And though there were often a few people that were that drunk, it took extreme effort for them to even notice the two, much less make any kind of motion in their direction. Nonetheless, he insisted on what totaled at least three blades of varying length, his typical armor, and several small disguised weapons in places you wouldn't want to know about.

If Aeris were honestly his teacher, she would establish a one-blade-only rule. In fact, she was supposed to be his teacher, so the rule didn't seem like such a bad idea.

One beautiful feeling ran through her entire body as she looked up at the back of his head and tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. They were both dead, meaning his ability to kill her now meant nothing. They were finally on the same level, and authority was for the one that claimed it first.

"Hey."

He turned around, a bit surprised at the defiant tone her voice had taken on. The confident grin she was wearing only served to confuse him more. She grabbed one of the swords he'd armed himself with.

"This comes off," she told him, "we need to be making a good first impression to live around here, and you're giving the kind of first impression you'd want to give to the other side of a battlefield."

He frowned, and gave her one of the coldest looks she'd ever seen. Expecting her to back down, he got the shock of his life when she added to the statement.

"You should probably lose the ones down your boots too."

After a long staring match, he finally spoke.

"Why do expect me to follow your orders?"

"Because," she let a smug look cross her face, "I'm your teacher."

Maybe Sephiroth realized he wasn't going to win this. Maybe he figured that this was his only way out. Either way, in a couple minutes, Aeris' hands were full with the two extra swords he wore with the big one, three curiously shaped daggers (from down the boots), two small handguns (he'd been informed firearms were prohibited), and one larger gun.

By the end of it, Sephiroth was angrier than he'd been on the way down here. He was growling and grumbling and cursing and using other forms of vocal expressions of disapproval as they left the stable.

They were out the door and halfway across the street before either spoke. Aeris, seeming to enjoy rubbing it in, was the first to speak. Sephiroth dreaded what she would say.

"Hmmm... It might be best to remove the ones behind your ears, too."

He could have ripped her limb from limb.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Holy Pants, a chapter! We ought to catch a good shot of that one, no, explorer James? Ahhhh.  
Happy.  
By the way, I took my mandatory "Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test" today. You all better wish me luck on being literate. I need it to pass high school.


End file.
